0xc0000142 Error: Application Unable to Start (Game Fix)

Error 0xc0000142 means a DLL the game loads at startup failed to initialize, so Windows ends the process before it opens — the fix is to repair whatever supplies that DLL: the game’s files, the Visual C++ runtime, or a third-party tool injecting into the game. The full dialog reads “The application was unable to start correctly (0xc0000142). Click OK to close the application.” It is one of Windows’ DLL-loading status codes, and it is different from the “DLL not found” and wrong-architecture errors that use the same dialog.

What 0xc0000142 actually means

Microsoft’s NTSTATUS reference names 0xC0000142 STATUS_DLL_INIT_FAILED: initialization of the dynamic link library failed; the process is terminating abnormally. Every game loads dozens of DLLs before its first frame. Each DLL runs a short startup routine when it’s loaded; if one of those routines reports failure, Windows aborts the whole launch with 0xc0000142.

That tells you what to look for: not a file that is missing, but a file that is present and broken — or a foreign DLL that shouldn’t be in the game’s process at all.

0xc0000142 vs the other “unable to start” codes

The same dialog appears for several different problems. The code in brackets decides the fix:

Code	Windows name	What went wrong	Fix
0xc0000142	STATUS_DLL_INIT_FAILED	A DLL loaded but its startup code failed	This guide
0xc000007b	STATUS_INVALID_IMAGE_FORMAT	A DLL is the wrong format, usually 32-bit vs 64-bit	0xc000007b fix
0xc0000005	STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION	The program read or wrote memory it doesn’t own	0xc0000005 fix
”VCRUNTIME140.dll was not found”	—	The Visual C++ runtime isn’t installed	VCRUNTIME140 fix

Find the failing DLL first (2 minutes, optional)

Windows often records which module failed. Checking it can skip you straight to the right fix:

1. Press Win + X → Event Viewer.
2. Open Windows Logs → Application.
3. Find an Error entry with source Application Error (Event ID 1000) at the time of the crash.
4. Read Faulting application name, Faulting module name and Exception code.

If the faulting module is a game file, start with Fix 2. If it’s msvcp140.dll, vcruntime140.dll or similar, go to Fix 3. If it belongs to an overlay, recorder, RGB or security tool, go to Fix 4. Not every 0xc0000142 failure is logged — if there’s no entry, just work the fixes in order.

Fix 1 — Restart the PC (not just the game)

A pending Windows, GPU-driver or runtime update can leave a DLL half-replaced until reboot. Use Restart, not Shut down — with Fast Startup enabled, Shut down doesn’t fully reload the system. Then launch the game once before changing anything else.

Fix 2 — Verify the game files

A corrupted game DLL is the most common game-specific cause. Every launcher can re-check and re-download damaged files:

• Steam: Library → right-click the game → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files.
• Epic Games Launcher: Library → ⋯ on the game → Manage → Verify.
• Xbox app / Game Pass: right-click the game → Manage → Files → Verify and repair. If every Game Pass game fails, see the Gaming Services repair guide.
• EA app / Battle.net / Ubisoft Connect: each has a Repair or Scan and Repair option in the game’s settings menu.

Fix 3 — Repair the Visual C++ runtime

Most PC games are built against Microsoft’s Visual C++ v14 runtime (vcruntime140.dll, msvcp140.dll and friends). A damaged copy loads but fails to initialize — a textbook 0xc0000142.

1. Download Microsoft’s latest v14 redistributable in both versions: x64 from aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe and x86 from aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x86.exe.
2. Run each. If it’s already installed, choose Repair.
3. Restart.

Older games may also install their own runtimes from a _CommonRedist or Redist folder inside the game directory — run those installers too. The VCRUNTIME140 guide covers installer error codes if the redistributable won’t install.

Fix 4 — Close overlays and tools that hook into games

Overlays, frame limiters, capture software and some security products load their own DLL into every game process. If that injected DLL fails to start — often after either the tool or the game updates — the game is the one that dies with 0xc0000142.

Close these before launching, then test:

• On-screen display and frame-limiter tools such as RivaTuner Statistics Server (installed with MSI Afterburner) — see the RTSS guide
• Recording and streaming tools, and third-party overlays (Discord, launcher overlays)
• RGB, fan-control and hardware-monitoring utilities
• Third-party antivirus — check its quarantine and exploit-protection logs for the game’s .exe

If the game starts with them closed, update the offending tool or add the game to its exclusion list.

Fix 5 — Clean boot to find the conflict

When you can’t tell which background program is responsible, a clean boot isolates it:

1. Press Win + R, type msconfig, press Enter.
2. Services tab → tick Hide all Microsoft services → Disable all.
3. Open Task Manager → Startup apps and disable every item.
4. Restart and launch the game.

If it starts, re-enable services in halves and restart each time until the error returns — the last half you enabled contains the culprit. Undo the clean boot afterwards by choosing Normal startup in msconfig.

Fix 6 — Run SFC and DISM if other programs fail too

If several unrelated programs throw 0xc0000142, the damaged DLL is probably a Windows system file. In an administrator Command Prompt run:

DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
sfc /scannow

Restart afterwards. The DISM and SFC guide explains what each result means.

Fix 7 — Update Windows and the GPU driver

Install pending updates in Settings → Windows Update, then update the graphics driver. If the error began right after a driver update, a clean reinstall with DDU removes leftover driver DLLs — see how to clean-install GPU drivers with DDU.

Which fix to try first

Situation	Start with
Only one game fails	Fix 2 (verify files), then Fix 3
Started after installing an overlay, recorder or antivirus	Fix 4
Event Viewer names msvcp140 / vcruntime140	Fix 3
Several programs fail with 0xc0000142	Fix 6, then Fix 5
Started after a GPU driver update	Fix 7

Once the game launches, if it later crashes in-game rather than at startup, that’s a different problem — see the DXGI_ERROR_DEVICE_HUNG guide and the out of video memory fix.